Film Analysis

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

OW: Ron Burgundy is the top-ranked news anchor in San Diego in the 70's and loves life.
Call: Veronica Corningstone comes to his news station, wanting to become an anchor.
Refusal: Ron doesn't accept Veronica being a news anchor, but will let her cover "female" interest news.
Mentor: Brian Fantana, Brick Tamland, and Champ Kind all tell him how she doesn't belong as a news caster but how she is hot and he should hit on her. Ed Harken, the boss, tries to convince Ron that the news station needs diversity.
Threshold: Ron falls in love with Veronica, and Veronica falls in love with him.
Tests, allies, enemies: Ron and his news station partners have a fight with all the other news stations. Ron tells everyone that he and Veronica are in love, even though she told him to keep it a secret. Ron's dog, Baxter, gets punted off of a bridge by a biker.
Approach: Calls friends.
Ordeal: Drops F-bomb on a live broadcast and gets fired from the news station and is no longer loved in San Diego.
Reward: Gets called to cover the biggest story of the year, a panda being born at the San Diego Zoo.
Road Back: Must get ready for his next news broadcast and not screw it up.
Resurrection: Veronica gets pushed into a bear exhibit and Ron jumps in to save her. Baxter comes back and saves them both.
Return with Elixir: Ron gets his job and Baxter back and broadcasts with Veronica and everyone is happy.

The Journey

Jerome is a 24-year old personal trainer in Jefferson City, Missouri. He is married and has a 6-year old son that means the world to him. He was a high school basketball star but an injury at the beginning of his senior year sidelined him and destroyed his dreams of playing college ball. One day, Jerome notices an ad in the newspaper for an open tryout with the Austin Toros, and NBA D-League team. He goes to Austin, Texas in hopes of making the D-League and working his way up to the NBA and living the dream.

Hero: Jerome Wallace (24-year old personal trainer)

Ordinary World: Jefferson City, Missouri. Living in regret of not fulfilling his dream of playing basketball.

Call to Adventure: Notices ad in newspaper for open tryouts for the NBA D-League and decides to try it.

Special World: Austin, Texas, where he can get the opportunity to play ball.

Hero

Name: Jerome Wallace
Age: 24
Race/religion/gender: Afrian American/Catholic/Male
Parents: Shellee and Troy
Style of dress: Business Man
Hometown: Jefferson City, Missouri
Marital status/family: Married with 6-year boy
Most embarrassing moment: Scoring on the other teams basket with 10 seconds remaining to put them in the lead in a high school basketball game
Greatest fear: Not being able to support his family
Strongest desire: To be a millionaire
Job: Personal trainer/ In law school
Where he/she wants to be in 5 years: To be a lawyer
Guiltiest pleasure: Watching Spongebob everyday with his son
Identifying marks: Tattoo on left arm of a tribal design
Mannerisms/gestures: Walks slightly pigeon-toed and sticks his chest out. Moves his hands a lot when talking
What he/she was like in school: Smart athlete
Favorite sayings: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."
Favorite quotes from songs: "You know that I'm a rebel. Throwing out the wicked like God did the devil."
Favorite movie quotes: "Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down, because you told them the truth. And that truth is that you did everything that you could. There wasn't one more thing that you could've done. Can you live in that moment, as best you can, with clear eyes and love in your heart? If you can do that, gentleman, then you're perfect.
Most valuable possession: His son
How he/she feels about love: Loves his wife and son
Philosophy on life: Live in the present

Adaptation

The Waitress
Atmosphere

"Get out bum! I'm going to call the police!"

"Okay, okay miss, I'm going. Watch your tone when you speak to us old folk."

"Out!"

I just stared at him as I watched him leave the cafe and walk down the street to the alleyway where I'm sure he sleeps. That hobo makes me so mad, just coming in the cafe every other day with loose change and staying here for hours on end. All he does is stare at me and give me advice about my life. Yeah, like a hobo knows how to live a good life.

"You're scaring the customers T!" I heard my boss yell out of the kitchen.

"Sorry, sorry... I just wanted to get that dirty man out."

"If he's got money, he has got a right to be here you know."

"Yes I know but he has been here for 3 hours on one bowl of corn chips."

"Alright, alright, get back to work."

-------------

"Excuse me miss, are you Tara James?"

I turned around to a two cops staring me in the face with a letter in their hand.

"Um, yes that would be me. Is there a problem?"

"Sorry to disrupt you at work but your father, Jeff James, has just died."

"My father? I haven't seen my father in years."

"He left this letter for you."

He handed me the letter, it looked like it was 10 years old with tears and coffee stains all over it. I thanked them as they left and sat down in one of the booths. How could he find me? I opened the letter and read:

Dear Tara,
First of all, I would like to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you. You deserve better, you don't need to be serving food in this cafe the rest of your life. I can see it in your eyes, you're angry with your life. I bet you hate every man that you date. All you want to do is escape. I notice you take it out on me that you're all alone, but you are the only woman in my world that acknowledges my exsitence.

What is he talking about? I didn't even know he was alive.

I'm getting old and if my ship ever comes, I'll miss it. I had a chance to make a difference but I didn't. Now I think you should know, your father is the one that sleeps in that alleyway. Yes I am the man who holds down that corner table all morning with a bowl of corn chips. I am that thorn in your hip. You're the only reason I visited. Damn, I wish I was a better father my daughter.
-Jeff James

Blurbs

The Waitress (Atmosphere)
Jeff James is a 50-year old man in Minnesota with no home. He frequently visits the same cafe for food, shelter, and his favorite waitress. She can't stand him coming into the cafe and does everything she can to get him out. Little does she know that Jeff is her father she never thought she would see again.

People Are Crazy (Billy Currington)
Married man, Craig Bolerjack, goes to the bar to get his mind off life and meets an elderly man named Jorge Sanchez there to do the same thing. They talks for hours on end about life and finally say their goodbyes and never see each other again. But Craig's "fortunes" are going to turn, just from meeting old Jorge.

Paul Revere (Beastie Boys)
In the wild west, there was a rebellious cowboy named Kaleb Aldridge. He was living the solo life when he runs into Mark Cuban who is a hardcore criminal and convinces Kaleb to come with him into town and get drunk and get some ladies. They go to the bar and leave with more than expected.

Just a Friend (Biz Markie)
Succesful rapper and song writer Marcel Hall meets a girl at one of his concerts. He asks her if she has a man and she replies "I only have a friend". Marcel listens to his heart over his brain and falls for the girl. It turns out to be a decision he will regret as he encounters his girl's "friend".

Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels)
Little Johnny was a lonely boy who just played song after song on his fiddle. One day, Satan himself challenged Johnny to a fiddle contest. If Johnny wins, he gets the devils golden fiddle and if Johnny loses, his soul will belong to Satan. It is a battle that will never be forgotten.

Story Song

Song title: The Waitress
Song artist: Atmosphere
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/atmosphere/thewaitress.html

Plot:
An old hobo keeps going into a cafe to see a waitress. The waitress always shoos him off and doesn't like him. In the end we realize that the waitress is the only reason the old hobo is living because she is his daughter.

Character:
Old hobo man (speaker)
The waitress
Waitresses men
Cops
Father of waitress

Conflict:
The hobo keeps coming in the cafe every day, even though he can't buy meals. He probably finds money so he can go in there to sit down because he is only allowed to sit if he buys something to eat. She doesn't like him there at all and always tells him to leave and tells him she will call the cops. The old hobo lives for her though. We find out she is his daughter. I don't know if she knows but I doubt it.

Theme:
Be nice to parents
Treat people like you would want to be treated

Setting:
Cafe in Minnesota
Cafe bathroom
Allleyway in Minnesota where hobo (narrarator) sleeps
Probably in 90's or 2000's

6-word Memoirs

10. Don't drop the bomb on me.

9. One day I will impress you.

8. I can't stop thinking about you.

7. Use self control, not birth control.

6. You couldn't have loved me better.

5. I'm trying to salvage a friendship.

4. More than a game, it's life.

3. I'm still finding where I belong.

2. Too bad we became friends first.

1. Life will never be the same.

Grand Theft Poetry

Lost You

You are invulnerable, you have no Achilles' heel.

My soul is not satisfied

that it has lost you.

It was convinced you were Cupid's blessing.

It never should've doubted whether I should come back to you.

That's why I now seize the moment,

and try to freeze it,

and own it.

Because now I know,

what it is like without you.

Very Bad Poetry

DECISION
I punched a hole through the Wall of China.
But I'm from North Carolina.
Tarheels! Tarheels!
There is no such thing as too many meals.
I can eat a lot in one day.
You don't even wanna know how much I weigh.
You would be surprised to hear,
that I don't drink beer.
But trust me, I can chug.
You sitting there thinking I ain't no thug.
Now keep watching your television,
while I make my decision.

Impulse

1- Once you get on the train and the coast is clear, text me.
2- Ok, but what if there is a problem?
1- There shouldn't be any, the boys and I have taken care of it.
2- Alright, whatever you say.
1- Trust me, nothing will go wrong.
2- Yeah yeah.
1- So lets go over this one more time, you get on the train, sit down as far away as you can be from anybody else...
2- ... and then when the conducter comes around to ask for my ticket, take him out quietly.
1- Yes, precisely. If you don't do it quietly, the operation is ruined.
2- You said there shouldn't be any problems.
1- Well that would be one, so just make sure you do it.
2- I'm not so sure about this Dick.
1- If you back out now..
2- I'm not going to back out, I just want to be positive this will work. What's hapapening after I take the conductor out?
1- Don't talk so loud! But you don't need to worry about that, your only job is to take him out and just wait where you are.
2- I need to know what will happen.
1- Fine, I will come on the train in a train conductor outfit and I will be the "new conductor" and then at the next stop I will let the boys on and then we will rob the train and everyone is happy. Good enough?
2- Yeah I guess.
1- Here comes the train, get ready.

Four-Alarm Fire

Smoke overwhelmed him as he struggled to find the exit of the art museum. He fumbled around on the handle of a door and opened it. He was surprised to see that the room he stepped in was not destroyed and barely had any smoke in it. At first he was upset that the door he opened wasn't the exit, but then he felt a sense of relief for some reason. He looked around and noticed the room was completely white and was about 12 by 12 feet. There was only one painting on the far end of the room. The picture the painting portrayed immediately compelled him. He walked slowly over to look at the painting. It was a painting of a house on fire and completely destroyed. He stood and thought about the painting. Never had a painting ever mean more than that one at that moment. He stepped over the rope on the ground meant to keep people away from the painting and unhooked it from the wall. With it under his arm, he ran out of the room and began to look for an exit with more diligence.

Introduction

My name is Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo, but I go by Dikembe Mutombo. I am a Congolese American man. The first thing you would notice about me is I am 7 feet and 2 inches tall, which came in handy when I played in the National Basketball Association. I am now retired and I have devoted myself to creative writing.